No stand mixer, no knead, no special equipment required. These No Knead Dinner Rolls are perfectly soft and fluffy and are astonishingly effortless to make. Just combine the ingredients in a bowl and mix with a wooden spoon – that’s it! It’s the easiest recipe for bread rolls in the whole world!
This recipe for bread rolls will blow your mind!
These dinner rolls are:
made without kneading;
without a stand mixer or any other electric appliance;
take 2 minutes of active effort to mix the dough;
have golden tops and are soft and fluffy on the inside.
Every single time I make these, I am in utter awe of how effortless they are, and how amazing they taste. They are in every way just as good as classic dinner rolls, made by kneading the dough by hand (tired arms, tired arms!) or using a stand mixer.
I truly believe to my very core that only those with a refined palette and/or baking experts can tell the difference between these No Knead Dinner Rolls and traditional kneaded-tired-arms dinner rolls!
See how soft and fluffy they are??
Kneaded vs No Knead Dinner Rolls
In the interest of being completely open and honest, here are the differences that I notice between kneaded dinner rolls and these No Knead Dinner Rolls:
The kneaded rolls stay a wee bit more moist for longer. ie. they are slightly better the next day compared to the No Knead ones. But actually, homemade bread, muffins etc, being preservative free that they are, are always best consumed fresh so I don’t see this as a major disadvantage. Neither the kneaded nor No Knead rolls are great the next day. They lose their moisture and both need to be warmed up before serving to make them moist again. It is just that with the kneaded ones you could possibly get away with not warming up (but they aren’t great), whereas the No Knead ones definitely need warming up;
Kneaded rolls rise a wee bit more. Not noticeable for normal people, and you’d never say the No Knead ones aren’t soft and fluffy. They are, they really are. It’s just that the kneaded ones rise a touch more with the same amount of yeast.
I’m so convinced of the merits of no-knead breads however, that I have since posted No-knead Artisan Bread and Focaccia – both spectacular loaves in their own right that don’t require single minute of kneading!
Dump-and-mix NO KNEAD Dough
In terms of the prep, the batter is literally a dump-and-mix job. There is a major difference in rise time compared to kneaded dough which can rise in 30 – 45 minutes for the 1st rise, then around the same for the 2nd rise after forming the rolls. For these No Knead Dinner Rolls, the dough is much wetter than kneaded dough, so it takes longer to rise. 1.5 – 2 hours, depending on how warm it is where you are. If you use my ridiculous-but-effective tip of rising the dough in your (empty! warm!) dryer, it takes 1.5 hours. 🙂 (See recipes notes for details)
You can see in these photos how different the dough is compared to traditional bread dough. It’s not knead-able, it’s way too sticky. It’s almost more like a muffin batter!
Quick little tip: To get a beautiful golden surface, the dough needs to be rolled tightly and smoothly into balls. With sticky dough, this is tough to do. So here’s my work around: Press the dough down lightly, then bundle it up like a money-bag (mmm…Thai Money Bags…). Flip it over and you have a nice smooth surface with the dough stretched tightly = smooth golden surface. I demo this in the recipe video too (below recipe).
Make-ahead and bake on demand
Another big bonus for these rolls: you can roll the dough into rolls then refrigerate overnight (uncooked) and bake them fresh when you’re ready to serve! It’s quite amazing actually, I wasn’t sure it would work but it does.
Easter is coming up! That’s why I decided to squeeze these in so soon after sharing Hot Cross Buns (which you can make using this No Knead technique, the recipe is in that post). I know some people think baking with yeast is daunting. But I swear to you, watch the video. See how soft and irresistible these rolls come out. And be prepared to be blown away by how easy these are to make!
Carb Monsters unite! – Nagi xx
More No Knead Breads & Flavour variation options!
Cheese and Bacon Rolls (use this no knead dough for that recipe)
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
No Knead Dinner Rolls recipe video! No laughing at the Baby Hands – you’ll cop a serious eyeful in this video!
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SOFT NO KNEAD Dinner Rolls
Ingredients
Buns:
- 1 tbsp dry yeast (Note 1)
- 1/4 cup caster/superfine sugar , or sub with normal white sugar
- 1/2 cup warm water (Note 2)
- 4 cups bread flour + extra for dusting (Note 3)
- 1 1/2 tsp salt , cooking/kosher salt
- 1 cup milk, lukewarm, whole or low fat, (Note 2)
- 50g / 3 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter , melted and cooled
- 2 eggs , at room temperature, beaten with fork
Brushing:
- 1 tbsp butter , melted
Instructions
- Place the yeast and 2 teaspoons of the sugar in a medium bowl, then pour in water. Leave for 5 minutes until it froths.
- Place flour, remaining sugar and salt in a bowl. Mix to combine.
- Make a well in the centre. Add milk, butter, eggs and pour in the yeast liquid, including all froth.
- Mix until combined with wooden spoon – it will be like a thick muffin batter. Not pourable, but thick and sticky.
Rise #1:
- Leave dough in the bowl, cover with a wet (clean) tea towel and place in a warm place (25C/77F+) to rise for around 1 1/2 – 2 hours or until almost tripled in volume. See Note 4 for how I do this (you will laugh – but it works every time!). Dough surface should be bubbly (see video or photos in post).
Forming Balls (watch video, it’s helpful):
- Line a 31.5 x 23.5 cm / 9 x 13″ tray with baking paper with overhang.
- Remove tea towel and punch dough to deflate, then mix briefly in the bowl to get rid of the bubbles in the dough.
- Dust work surface with flour, scrape dough on work surface. Dust top of dough then shape into a log. Cut log into 4 pieces, then cut each piece into 3 pieces (12 in total).
- Take one piece and press down with palm, then use your fingers to gather into a ball, flip (so smooth side is up) then roll the dough briefly to form a ball. This stretches the dough on one side and that’s how I get a nice smooth surface on my roll. (For this step, use as much flour as needed to handle dough and avoid piercing inside into the wet dough)
- Place the ball with the smooth side up on the tray. Repeat with remaining dough. Line them up 3 x 4.
Rise # 2:
- Spray surface of rolls (or cling wrap) with oil (any), then place cling wrap over the tray.
- Return tray to warm place and leave for 30 – 45 min, until the dough has risen by about 75% (less than double in size).
- Partway through Rise #2, preheat oven to 200C/390F (standard) or 180C/350F (fan/convection).
- Bake for 15 – 18 minutes, or until the surface is a golden brown and the roll in the centre sounds hollow when tapped. The surface colour is the best test for this recipe.
- Remove rolls from oven. Brush with melted butter.
- Use overhang to lift rolls onto a cooling rack. Allow to cool to warm before serving.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
LIFE OF DOZER
When he got sent to the naughty corner and he was wondering whether he was allowed back in….
Hi Nagi, can this be made into a loaf of bread at all? (in a bread loaf tin).
Also my roles burned a bit dark on top (180c fan forced 15min) should I reduce the heat next time or not do fan forced? Thanks 🙂
Hi Jess – I haven’t tried in a loaf, I think it’s a bit too crumbly for a loaf. However, a french stick works great! If yours browned too quickly, sounds like your oven runs a bit hot, I use fan forced and they definitely weren’t dark brown at 15 min, they are exactly per the photos. 🙂 Try moving the shelf down, that helps reduce surface browning, otherwise yes try non fan forced, or reduce the fan forced temp by 10C. 🙂
Great, thank you!
These were awesome.
Touch sweet for me so might reduce sugar to 2tbs instead of 1/4 cup next time as you suggested?
Cooked them yesterday and turned out perfect! Thanks Nagi!
That’s terrific to hear Jess! Thank you for letting me know! And yes definitely reduce sugar a touch if they are too sweet for your taste 🙂 N xx
I made these rolls for Easter. They were great. Now the bad things is my husband wants me to make a butch ever week. Lol
BA HA HA!!!! Good problem to have! 😉
We are from Australia, but we live in Ecuador. Love getting your recipes, then adapting them for ingredients from our farm and from the local market and flour miller. I made this recipe yesterday with whole wheat flour.
Once the dough was ready for its second rise, I decided to make it into a calzone/stromboli thingy with spinach and tomatoes out of our garden, pizza sauce and the local fresh cheese. It was brilliant, but turned out so big, we shared it with two neighbours.
WOW you’re a long way from home! I absolutely love hearing from Aussies all over the world. 🙂 I love that you made it into a calzone! I can’t wait to share more recipes using this dough 🙂 It’s magic!!
Wow…i had given up making pav till i saw ur recipe….its such a perfect recipe…my dream of making a ladipav came true because of u….thank you for the recipe…..this gives me courage to try a kneaded pav too…..cant thank u enough
Kneaded…..PAV????
Can you half the recipe?
Yep! Use the scaler – hover over servings 🙂
The first time I made, I only used one pack of dry yeast and regular all purpose flour. Because I didn’t look at foot note. Came out good but not like I expected.
The second time, I used bread flour and two packs of yeast and they came out perfect
That’s so fantastic to hear Velvet! Thank you for letting me know you enjoyed it! – N xx
Can’t wait to try these!!!! Oh and you should say your #1 deserted island item is buttered bread. It will confuse them from grumbling
THAT’S BRILLIANT!!!! Definitely pulling that out next time! ?
Amazing! Even if you have never baked a thing in your life you could make these!
YESSSS!!!
Hi! I just made these for the first time and they are delicious but despite being brown on top and sounding hollow they are still doughy inside. The color was on the verge of too dark so I took them out at 15 minutes. I see you used a square metal pan and all I had was an 8×8 glass. Could this be my problem? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Hi Megan – I’ve made rolls in glass before and they worked just fine. Did you use the right temp for the oven type you have? If your oven runs hot, try turning it down a touch, these rolls can take a slightly lower temp!
Yes, cooking varies with the pan, glass, non-stick, etc, that you use with any food. Also, not all ovens cook exactly the same so for time and degree.
I just had to say these look amazing I can just imagine the wonderful fresh taste!
>>>”…top 3 foods they would take to a Deserted Island to live on forever. You do not have to worry about nutrition and no one puts on weight on my island. And despite much pressure, I stand firm that you are unable to grow, catch or kill anything on this island. You can, however, trade foods with other people on your island.”<<<
If we could take it with us to live on forever that would mean we would have a lifetime supply so we wouldn't need to grow, catch or kill anything so that point is null. Lol.
So, in playing the game I would definitely gave a lifetime supply of these fresh baked buns! Bread is filling!
Second would be some chocolate! Have to have chocolate!! Lastly I would bring pizza! Yes, I know, more dough! Lol.?
You didn't mention beverages, but my lifetime supply would of course be water. If someone else had the "good drinks" we could always trade! 😉
Ha ha that was fun!
Now what would you like to trade with me, if anything? Lol.?
YESSS!!! COME ON MY ISLAND!!!!
Ever tried these with gluten free flour?
I’m sorry, I haven’t, I would love to know if you try!
I don’t think this recipe is going to work for me :(. It wasn’t wet like in the video. I followed the recipe to a tea. I’m not sure why but I’ve never been able to make bread. Sadly this may be my last attempt..
Hi Patty, I’m sorry to hear that. Are you sure you measured the ingredients correctly?? I can’t imagine what could make the batter so different, even readers in high altitude places and super humid places have made this recipe with success! N xx
Reporting back on my first batch of these rolls. I have never made yeast breads before (intimidating) but these were easy and turned out well. I would definitely suggest weighing your flour instead of measuring. More precise. I made one batch as you did and the second batch went into the refrigerator for the first rise over nite. I took them out in the am and made smaller ones for dinner rolls. 9 in a square aluminum pan. They rose on the counter and were ready to bake at noon and were the perfect size. So I got 18 rolls out of this recipe. My 18 year old granddaughter was inspired to try it. Her turn next time.
Question – do you have a easy pizza dough recipe? I would love to do pizza on the grill this summer
Whoo! So pleased to hear that Nancy!! I am actually working on a bunch of recipes using this one as a base, and pizza dough is among them! I made naan using a variation of this recipe the other day and it worked great, made me think pizza will work too. Think using olive oil will go some way to make it crispy!
I made these earlier because I was going to make sticky drumstick in plum sauce later. They looked so nice to be honest I couldn’t belive that I made them. My husband couldn’t wait for dinner he took 2 when they were still warm with butter and a cuppa. Later that evening when we were now eating dinner I warmed them and Nagi! Nagi ! another winner. I have tried other recipes before and yours I’ll rate 10 out of 5 if there’s a score like that, best rolls nice and soft even the folowing day. I am so happy about my cooking skills thanks to you Nagi xx
Ohhhhh!!!!! I’m so happy you lied these Nandi!!! And I’m also glad you let your husband sneak some while they were still warm!! N xx
Hi, Nagi! My recipe for no-knead bread is quite similar to yours except I use 4 oz unsalfed butter, I always sift the flour, and I always use jumbo eggs when I cook or bake. I have also made this recipe and baked it in a loaf pan. My husband and I owned and operated two B&Bs in Michigan, and alnost everything we offered I made from scratch. You are quite correct about its shelf life..always best eaten the day it’s baked. Thanks. Now I think I’ll make a loaf tomorrow? Joyce
Ohhhh I love hearing that! making things like bread from scratch is the type of true B&B experience that you don’t see much anymore. ❤️
I’ve tired other no knead rolls before and they were never as fluffy as these. This recipe turned out very large and super fluffy with hardly any work. I’m just recovering from major abdominal surgery and wanted to bake something easy that wouldn’t make me to tired. This was perfect! I didn’t need to pull out my heavy mixer or get a workout kneading the dough. I made them today for dinner and my guys (husband and 2 grown boys) Loved them!
And I love the dryer trick! Thank you for the tip! We have the Air Con running and they tripled in size in my dryer just like you said they would. Plus the boys thought it was funny when I told them I had bread in the dryer. LOL!
BTW: I’m from the USA and used my dry measuring cups to measure the 4 1/2 cups and it was just perfect. You do have to spoon your flour into the cups. Don’t just scoop it up, or you could be short or to heavy with the amounts.
PS, I bake for a living at a cake shop.
Hi Margie – I hope you are recovering ok! 🙂 And extra pleased that these rolls turned out so great for you 🙂 N xx
Hey there Nagi. Thankyou for this wonderful recipe! I was just wondering if you have ever tried it with whole wheat? I will probably try it either way but wondering if you had yet. Thanks so much! Have a fantastic day!!
My 11 year old daughter loves to bake and tried this recipe tonight. OMG these are one of the best rolls I’ve ever had and I will never buy rolls from the store again. Thank you !
I just made the bread rolls came out very well, thanks
Cheers
Meneka de Silva
Can i freeze the dough (for future use) without affecting any texture or consistency? I hope you could help me with my query. Thanks
I haven’t tried for this no knead dough Aer, I’d love to know if you try it!